Convicted murderer Steven Spader's attempt to get a reduced sentence went before a judge Wednesday morning.

Spader is serving a mandatory sentence of life in prison for killing Kimberly Cates of Mont Vernon during a home invasion. Spader was 17 when he was charged with murder, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this spring that mandatory life sentences for juveniles are cruel and unusual punishment.

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Defense attorneys for Sapder are seeking a new sentencing hearing, which has been granted. On Wednesday defense attorneys and prosecutors met to decide on a timeline for that hearing, but no date has been set.

The defense has until Dec. 28 to tell the court what witnesses it plans to call. The lawyers for the state and defense will then meet on Jan. 3 to go over that declaration and decide how long they need before they are ready for the resentencing hearing.

Defense attorney Jonathan Cohen said his team is still considering how to present Spader's case.

"Whether or not there will be experts involved in the sentencing hearing, which witnesses will be called and things like that," he said.

The choices the defense makes will determine how the sentencing hearing plays out, said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Strelzin.

"If they get an expert, it may mean that the state gets an expert," Strelzin said. "You have to do depositions, and that would lengthen things out by several months."

Strelzin prosecuted the original case and said part of what the state will argue depends on the case the defense presents. He said victim impact statements will definitely be a part of the state's response, and there is the possibility that David Cates and his daughter, Jaimie, could testify.

"We'll talk about that with the Cates family," he said. "We've had some discussion with them about that issue, but that's something we'll defer down the road."

Cohen said the Supreme Court outlined specific reasons for determining why juveniles should not be subject to mandatory life in prison sentences.

"Their brains are not full formed," he said. "Their decision-making is not fully formed, and for those reasons, the sentencing has to consider those differences."

Strelzin said that latest appeal by Spader is a blow to the Cates family, but he said they have remained strong throughout the case.

As for sentencing, he said the state intends to ask for the same sentences to be imposed, including life in prison without parole, and the defense conceded that after the hearing, Spader could be in the same place he is now, facing the rest of his life behind bars.